Isn't he precious? I found this darling kitten a few days ago in my backyard. Since I already have three cats of my own and feed about six other stray cats in the neighborhood, I had to find him a good home. That happened today! Leila is the proud mother of this 8 weeks old kitty. Yeah!
Let me introduce you to Jean, another dear member of my family. I "adopted" Jean as my "Momskey" soon after her husband died quite suddenly of dementia in 2000. Since she was living right across from me, it was easy to start taking her dishes of food to help supplement her meals, and to do odd jobs around her house.
But as the months passed by and turned into years I gradually began to notice a change in her ability to remember how to perform normal daily routines. It was little things at first. After seeing her eat cold soup one too many times in the middle of winter I knew she had forgotten how to use the microwave or stove. Since I knew she liked to hang her wet laundry outside to dry, I questioned what was going on when I saw only one pair of pants or one blouse at a time hanging on her clothesline. She had forgotten how to use her washing machine so she was trying to wash one item of clothing at a time in the kitchen sink.
The day I found more candy bars than food in her refrigerator after she had gone grocery shopping, was the day I knew her ability to reason and make wise decisions was slipping. However, the biggest shock came one year when I volunteered to get her receipts ready for income taxes. I discovered that she had been draining her savings accounts of thousands of dollars in order to write checks for the many “charities” who were lining up at her door to receive “easy” money. After shutting down that scam, I began to help her manage her finances.
The day I realized that “Momskey” could no longer remember how to drive her car was the day I realized that she needed a “Daughterskey”. She fondly began signing birthday cards, “To my Daughterskey” until she was unable to remember how to write the words. Then I would write them down for her to copy. Sometimes that task would take her several hours as she tenaciously struggled to make the words legible.
The last few months haven’t been easy. In fact they have been excruciatingly painful at times as I watch “Momskey” have less and less control over her bodily functions. But even more heartbreaking is seeing her trapped inside her own confusing thought patterns as she struggles to find the words to express herself in a way that can be understood by others, especially by me.
This breakdown in communications is the hardest blow! All I can do at times is hold her gently in my arms and silently weep as I ask God to give me His patience and compassion to face the ongoing and ever-increasing challenges of taking care of this dear lady who has become “my mom”.
Lately she’s been very confused at times and sometimes doesn’t remember where she is even when she’s in her own home. Sometimes she talks about me in the third person, and I become “that lady who helps me!” Thankfully, the delusions have calmed down somewhat since she started a new medication a week ago. But the on-going struggle to try and make sense of what she is saying and bring her back from the land of oblivion into the world of reality is at times a minute by minute challenge.
As the events of her yesterdays get erased, and the confusion of today reigns, I know that the day may come when she will no longer remember who I am. But what is most important to me is that I remember who she is, and continue to treat her with the love and dignity that she deserves.
She will always be my "Momskey "and I her "Daughterskey", because deep within our hearts is a bond of love that even this disease cannot sever. Together, as mother and daughter, we will continue to bravely face the challenging days ahead as we confront the devastating effects of Alzheimer’s with the weapon of His love.
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I would also like to ask those of you who feel led to please pray for us... especially that God will receive glory in the midst of this time of emotional suffering.
Here are some of God's four-legged creatures who continue to bring smiles of joy to my heart...and to the hearts of those who have been touched by their gentle souls.
For those of you who are cat lovers... Here are some pictures of my babies that I rescued two years ago when they were five weeks old. They were all abandoned by their mother's in my prayer garden! Sasha is the eldest, being four months older than Mimi and Touche who are about three weeks apart in age. Needless to say, it was pretty crazy raising three kittens that were so close together in age!
Even although she was a baby herself,
Mimi chose to "mother" Touche
for the first four months of her life by
letting her "nurse" on her...
Mimi hiding from Touche so she
can have a moment of undisturbed
rest!
Mimi found Sasha her "bossom" buddy!
Sassy Sasha always wants things her way!
Mimi & Sasha enjoying a moment on the bathroom windowsill...
Mimi, Touche and Sasha all engrossed listening to the birds singing!
Simba & Lucy were buddies for many years...
Simba was always thirsty after she got diabetes.
Simba was a very loving dog who always wanted to sit on your feet and be petted. She had warm gentle eyes that took in everything...even after she lost her eyesight to diabetes, she still could "see" when someone needed some loving...
Washing Lucy's eyes was something Simba liked to do on a regular basis! Even after she went blind, she continued to find Lucy's eyes in need of regular attention...All of these photos were taken several years
ago before the thick trees surrounding the
back and one side of the garden were removed.
It looks different today.
Sadly the privacy is gone
that made this bird
sanctuary into
a secret
garden.
Sometimes during warm summer evenings 
Scott is one of my "spiritual" sons.
Leila is the youngest member of my"
Ramone and Yoko, David and Sheila 
More smiles from the recent  |
| Roses in January? Only in California! |
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| Tiny red scarlet flowers... |
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| This potato vine looks nothing like a potato. |
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| Hope these lilies will still be around for Easter! |
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| Impatience are delicate, yet hardy... always struggling to survive the snails who consider them a d e l i c a c y ! |
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| A wheelbarrow full of flowers looks fresh and clean after the rain... or was it the sprinkler? |
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| This pair of turtledoves will not coo or fly away if you come too close! |
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| Here's looking at life from another perspective! |
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| These fiber octave grasses love to send their roots down to the bottom of the pond... |
Sunlight through leaves makes everything look beautiful! So does
Sonlight through people!
Large grassy area under the spreading
Old tree stump seemed to make.JPG)
Another view of the garden in the
And another view at a different angle.
An interesting shot taken through leaves. 
Garden pathways...
This thick hedge use to encircle the back 
Looking through a bird feeder! 
French street light overlookingrock garden.
